October 17, 2002 - SAN FRANCISCO, CA - The international law firm Covington & Burling has added four associates to its growing San Francisco office. Darren D. Cooke, Vince G. Chhabria, Cameron Alston and John R. Tighe will support the firm's increasingly busy West Coast litigation practice. Together with two more associates, due to start work before year's end, this brings Covington's total number of San Francisco attorneys to 26, an increase of 19 since the office first opened in 1999.

"We are pleased with the growth of our West Coast practice, particularly in these tough economic times," said Jim Snipes, managing partner of Covington & Burling San Francisco. "We attribute this steady expansion to our success in attracting new clients locally, as well as new West Coast work for existing clients who value our traditional strengths and international capabilities. The addition of these six attorneys, along with the early 2002 additions of white-collar criminal defense Partner John Potter and corporate securities Of Counsel Andrea Vachss, add additional muscle to our local litigation capabilities in the areas of intellectual property, antitrust, white-collar criminal defense and corporate securities matters."

Cooke, 33, previously an associate with Brown & Bain LLP, has represented major high-tech companies, including Cypress Semiconductor and Intel, handling patent infringement, tortious interference and trade secret misappropriation claims. Cooke served as president for the Society of Law, Science & Technology Club at Columbia University School of Law, where he earned his J.D. (1999). He also earned a M.S. from the University of California, Berkeley (1996) and a B.S. from California Polytechnic State University (1993).

Chhabria, 33, joins the firm after clerking for United States Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer (2001-2002), as well as stints with Judge James R. Browning, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (1999-2000) and Judge Charles R. Breyer, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (1998-1999). He also interned for the United States Department of Justice's Office of Policy Development (1997). Chhabria earned his J.D., with honors, from Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California, Berkeley (1998), and his B.A., with honors, from University of California, Santa Cruz (1991).

Alston, 27, joins the firm after clerking for Honorable Garland E. Burrell, Jr., U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California (2001-2002). Alston brings with her writing and publishing experience gained as senior executive editor of California Law Review, associate editor of Ecology Law Quarterly, a freelance journalist, intern at KQED-FM, columnist at Catalyst Magazine, and staff editor of Shades Literary Magazine. Alston received her J.D. from Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California, Berkeley (2001) and her B.A., with honors, from the University of Utah (1996).

Tighe, 27, brings substantial experience in the high-tech realm, where he most recently worked as a developer for San Francisco-based AudioBasket.com. Additionally, he was a software engineer for Sierra On-Line of Bellevue, Wash. and a programmer for Seattle-based S & T Onsite. Tighe earned his J.D. from Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California, Berkeley (2002) and his B.A., with honors, from Pomona College (1997).

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Covington & Burling LLP operates as a limited liability partnership worldwide, with the practice in England and Wales conducted by an affiliated
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